Underachievers

Common Problems in Academics:

1. poor memory retention

2. Inability to concentrate
3. Lack of motivation/ interest
4. Confusion about career choices
5. Dislike towards specific subjects
6. Peer pressure
7. Lack of social skills
8. Lack of friends
9. inability to adjust- environment, poor relationships with teachers and others

Behavioural Problems:

1. Aggressiveness
2. Temper tantrums
3. Stammering
4. Slow learning
5. Lying and stealing
6. Truancy
7. Running away from home
8. Low self esteem

Who are Underachievers?

1. Underachievers are students with high intellectual or academic potential, whose

performance and scholastic achievement are well below their ability levels.
2. These children with considerable academic ability who fail at subjects in which they should
succeed.
3. Underachievement is often assumed as a simple problem and this is the reason why
stereotyped comments are often seen in school reports; e.g. ‘not working to potential’, ‘lazy’
etc.
4. Too often parents, teachers and even counsellors, assume that underachievers are students
who can, but simply don’t (or won’t) achieve.

Types of Underachievers
1. Situational: long term problems linked with emotional crisis; e.g- break up, personality clash.
2. Chronic: identified by characteristics like- aggressive, sulky, withdrawn and refuse to
develop.
3. Coasters - ultimate procrastinators, easy going and unmotivated.
 4. Anxious Underachievers - want to do better but are too tense and uptight to work
effectively.
5. Identity Searchers - are too involved in figuring out who they are, that they become
distracted from school work.
6. Wheeler-Dealers - are impulsive, manipulative and need an instant gratification so much that
they see no point in doing well in school.
7. Sad Underachievers - lack the energy needed for schoolwork because of depression and low
self esteem.
8. Defiant Underachievers - underachieve as an act of rebellion.

Characteristics of underachievers

1. Often impulsive with poor personal judgement abilities.

2. Have poor test results at school and no hobbies or interests at home.
3. Have a low self-image, often displaying distrust, indifference, lack of concern and / or
hostility.
4. Feel victimized or helpless and may not accept any responsibility for themselves or their
actions.
5. Feel rejected by their family and resist attempts to help by parents or teachers.
6. Fear of failure
7. Choose friends with similar negative attitudes to school show no leadership qualities and
may be less mature than their peers.
8. Have little motivation with poor study habits.
9. May refuse to do homework or leave much work in complete.
10. They lack basic study, time management and organizational skills by the time they reach the
middle or intermediate level
11. Either cannot plan for the future or set goals well below their true ability or potential.

Causes of Underachievement:

1. Over empowerment and “adultizement”.

2. Lack of challenge or too much challenge, over competitive or under competitive classroom.
3. Teachers having impossible standards, low expectations.
4. Too strict or repressive teachers and lack patience with students.
5. Make-up of the school system
6. Pressures
a. Extreme praise
b. Perfectionism
c. Peer relationships
d. Informal labelling
7. Contradictory messages by parents.
8. Parents' lack of support for schools and teachers. (Disrespect for education).
 9. Instability within the family unit.
10. Complexity of modern life .
11. Parents demand high grades
12. Counter identification
13. Too many extra-curricular activities.
14. Anxiety, depression, ADHD
15. School phobia
16. Substance abuse
17. Fear of failure/success
18. Lack of peer group acceptance
19. Undetected learning disabilities
20. Lack of basic skills and study habits

Intervention:

1. Identify the cause for underachievement

2. Provide regular feedback to motivate as well as maintain progress chart
3. Formulating goals by themselves
4. Group guidance workshops to motivate each other
5. Parents as well as teachers to help in the growth process
6. Peers to have a positive influence on the improvement on the underachievers
7. To build the child’s self confidence and independence
8. To make real decisions and live with the consequences
9. Encourage the child to see himself as an unique individual
10. Parents should be warned against taking away the things that the child loves for example –
can’t do this until there has been some improvement
11. Child must not be lecturer or nagged for example saying irresponsible or checking all the
time implies a lack of trust
12. Relationship with the child based on mutual respect
13. Goals should be put in priority order
14. Learning environment that is flexible, open, accepting and challenging
15. Allowed to study the basics through areas of interest
16. Career and vocational guidance as early as possible

Treatment:

1. Special guidance to help the child develop a positive self concept.

2. It is essential to build the child’s self-confidence and independence.
3. Let the child make real decisions and live with the consequences.
4. Guide, but allow the child to make the final decision; e.g. how to manage pocket money,
decide what to wear etc.
5. Encourage the child to see himself as a unique individual with a valuable contribution to
make to family and society.
6. Encourage the child to do things that he loves and succeeds.
7. Assignments and teaching methods should be adjusted to the individual interests and
abilities of students.
8. Have individual training programs. It requires a detailed plan which describes the skill, deficit
areas, the strengths of the child, and the areas to be worked on.
9. IEP (Individualized Education Program); refers to instruction that enables the students to
work on appropriate tasks or content over time, under conditions that motivate.
10. It outlines the ‘plan’ (outcomes, curriculum, teacher, responsibility, schedule and setting)
that faculties instruction.
11. It does not imply that each student should receive one to one instruction. It means that
students receive instruction tailored according to each one’s needs.
12. Teacher student sessions may be held for planning work to be covered and setting goals.
13. It often helps to set achievable goals. The goals can be out in a priority order, but flexibility is
important.
14. The teacher/parent should not keep checking on the child all the time. This seems o the child
that he or she is irresponsible and not in control of life. It also implies a damaging lack of
trust.
15. Tutoring by willing and able senior citizens or peers who can provide the warmth,
understanding and praise often missing at home.
16. A team approach to working with underachievers who are gifted or talented, including the
teachers, parents, counsellors and peers.
17. A special opportunity class for underachievers of mixed ages with similar problems out of the
regular class, even out of the regular school where possible, for at least part of the day.
18. Opportunity to work at their area of their ability.
19. Someone the child respects is available
20. Avoid isolation
21. Study the basics through areas of interest
22. Learning “strategies-study” skills:
a. Learning strategies refer to Students' self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions,
which are systematically oriented toward attainment of their goals”.
b. Learning strategies are defined as techniques, principles
c. Or rules that enable a learner, to solve problems and to
d. Complete tasks in the appropriate time.
e. The ‘learning strategies approach’ helps students cope with the complex demands
of the curriculum.
f. The approach helps students learn course content (lessons in various subjects)
through instruction in study skills necessary to acquire, store and to express content.
23. Study skills classification:
a. Preparatory study skills – time and self management for effective learning
 b. Acquisition study skills – developing expertise in information gathering – reading
skills, note taking
c. Expression study skills – demonstrate knowledge in test and written assignment

Strategies for helping underachievers:

1. A positive self concept to build self confidence and independence

2. Assignment and teaching methods adjusted to individual interest and ability
3. Individual training program – detailed plan for skill deficit areas, strengths of the child and
areas to be worked on
4. Planned sessions for work to be covered and set goals
5. Opportunity class of mixed ages with similar problems